“A shape-shifting, flip-flopping, over-promising, self-serving politician is nothing new. Where Mr. McCarthy truly distinguished himself was in his willingness and ability to debase himself in the service of Donald Trump — even as he occasionally pretended to still have a spine. 'My Kevin,' as Mr. Trump so delighted in calling him, certainly did his part to aid Mr. Trump's political revival after the Jan. 6 sacking of the Capitol. In a turnaround so dramatic it must have given him whiplash, Mr. McCarthy went from saying that Mr. Trump needed to 'accept his share of responsibility' for his role in the attack to, some weeks later, slinking down to Mar-a-Lago for a grotesque photo op with the former president. ...

”By empowering the most extreme elements of the Republican conference, he made an already fractured, fractious chamber even more dysfunctional. Worse, by shoring up Mr. Trump after Jan. 6, he helped put America back on a crash course with a dangerous, antidemocratic demagogue looking for political revenge. ...

“Thanks a lot, Kev. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.”

-- Michelle Cottle, “Was It Worth It, Kevin?” The New York Times Opinion page

My questions about his resignation revolve around whether Mike Johnson is paying attention—how can he not be?—and what lessons he's drawing. I get the feeling he's drawing the wrongs ones. As for Kev: Why now? Why not stick it out for another year? He says he plans to stay in GOP politics, but how? In supporting more centrist candidates or in continuing to be lickspittle and lackey to the crew that undid him?